Jul 03, 2018

Willmar's "Welcoming is Who We Are, Faith not Fear" draws 5 times more than unwelcome event

Those who view Greater Minnesota as a place peopled by fear-ridden residents cowering in corners fretting about the next jumping jihadist might consider a recent news report that suggests quite the opposite might be the case.

Around 100 people in Willmar, both young and old, joined thousands of others across the country Saturday to march in support of families being separated both at the southern border and by the travel ban, which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court last week.

"We can't be silent, we have to show we are affected by it," said Hamdi Kosar, one of the Willmar march's organizers. "We have to show we really care about each other."

Willmar's "Welcoming is Who We Are, Faith not Fear" march and rally was organized by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Willmar and the faith group ISAIAH. The participants marched through downtown, holding signs and banging drums. There were also speeches before and afterward.

"Families do belong together, whether from war torn areas or in Willmar," said David Moody, a march organizer. "This is not about open borders. This is about opening our hearts." . . .

Later, there's this tidbit:

On Thursday, Ron Branstner, a speaker from Eden Valley, was in town to share his viewpoint on welcoming resolutions and immigration. Approximately 20 people attended the presentation at the Willmar Community Center, to hear Branstner's thoughts and concerns about the wave of welcoming resolutions being passed throughout the state, as well as immigration and refugee resettlement.

"It is people coming in and money going out. It is the redistribution of wealth. That is all it is," Branstner said. He said he worries that such movements like welcoming resolutions will end with the United States Constitution being bypassed and replaced with international law.

When Fatima Said asked the City Council here to join a national move to embrace immigrants, refugees and all other newcomers, the council unanimously approved the idea that same night.

The vote made Winona the first Minnesota city to join Welcoming America, a national network of local governments and nonprofits.

"I was so proud of that," recalled Said, who arrived with her family in Rochester in December 1993 as Bosnian refugees. Volunteers met them with open arms, she says. "This multicultural society in America is a beauty."

In the two years since, however, the movement that Winona embraced has met with increasingly hostile resistance in cities and towns across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, exposing deep rifts and anxiety over immigration, refugees, race, culture and religion — particularly Islam. . . .

Those who support the welcoming initiatives and similar efforts see them as important value statements critical to attracting residents, especially in rural communities that are struggling to recruit and hold workers for hard-to-fill, low-skilled jobs.

"I can't understand how many people have problems with Welcoming America. We work together because there is no other way," said Said, executive director of Project Fine, a nonprofit that works to integrate newcomers through education. "You love your own and you respect others. That's what people need to learn — to be open-minded and respect each other."

But even in cities such as St. Cloud and Willmar, which passed resolutions, tensions ran high. Opponents in both cities focused their objections on Somali immigrants, with allegations being raised that they spread disease, commit crimes, take advantage of public assistance, provide recruits for Islamic terrorism and generally resist assimilation.

Ron Branstner, a resident of Eden Valley who often testifies against Welcoming initiatives, told the Willmar City Council that the resolution is more than just a "feel-good idea."

Branstner offered his opinions to Willmar, and only a handful welcomed the chance to learn about them. Instead five times as many people welcomed the chance to express support for keeping families together and for the notion of welcoming people to their community.

The tiny reception for Branstner isn't an example of "silencing him" or censorship or political correctness or any other sort of tripe. Rather, more Willmar residents are welcoming than not.

Photo:Community members walk down Becker Avenue in Willmar Saturday morning during the “Welcoming is Who We Are” march and rally. Erica Dischino / West Central Tribune.

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